Fluorescent ballast bracket



Sept. 28, 1948. R. F. ROWE I FLUORESCENT BALLAST BRACKET Filed Nov. 25, 1947 Inventor: Robert FT Rowe, by

H @s Attorney Patented Sept. 28, 1948 2,450,302 FLUORESCENT BALLAST BRAC'KET Robert F. Rowe, Fort Wayne,

General Electric Company,

New York Ind., assignor to a corporation of Application November 25, 1947, Serial No. 788,046

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to fluorescent ballast brackets, and more particularly to a bracket for mounting a fluorescent-ballast within the body of a table lamp.

When a fluorescent lamp is in operation, it is necessary to supply some external means for limiting the current to the value for which the lamp is designed. This is done by placing in series with the lamp a ballast, which may be simply a coil of insulated copper wire wound on an iron core. With the introduction of circular fluorescent lights, it has become possible to make fluorescent table lamps in a form similar to the more conventional type, which often has a main body in the form of a ceramic jar. Constructing a lamp of this type poses the problem of locating and mounting the ballast. Sometimes it is possible to secure the ballast in the base of the lamp but in most cases the base is too small to accommodate the ballast.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a simple and ingenious means for mounting, preferably on the vertical center line, a fluorescent ballast in the main body of a table lamp. It is desirable to mount the ballast on the vertical center line of the lamp so as to assure the greatest degree of lamp stability.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple bracket for mounting, preferably on the vertical center line, a fluorescent ballast in the main body of a table lamp.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bracket constructed in such a way that noise caused by vibration of the ballast against the bracket will be reduced.

The invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claim.

Fig. 1 shows a table lamp, partly in section, embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the mounting bracket illustrating also, a fluorescent lamp ballast.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown therein in Fig. 1 by way of example, a pottery table lamp l which utilizes a circular type fluorescent lamp 2. Electrical energy is supplied to the lamp 2 through the leads 3. To limit the lamp current, a ballast 4, which is mounted by means of a novel bracket 5, is connected in series with the lamp 2. To support rigidly both the ballast 4 and bracket 5, a partially threaded pipe conduit 6 runs vertically through the main body I of the lamp I. This is made in two sections. A lower section extends between the ceramic base 8 of the lamp, through which is a hole, and the lower part of the bracket 5. An upper section extends between a metal cover plate 9 and the upper part of the bracket 5. This conduit is fastened to the pottery base 8, the cover plate 9, and the bracket by the nuts H], ll, 12, and 13. When the nuts II and I3 are screwed down on the base 8 and.

plate 9, the resulting force acting on the main body 1 of lamp l sets up an internal compressive stress within the main ceramic body of the lamp l which serves to strengthen it. Not only does the conduit 6 act as the support for the bracket 5, but it also serves as a housing for the lead 3.

The physical construction of the bracket 5 is shown in greater detail in Fig. 2. The bracket is made by bending a suitably shape flat metal stamping to form a main body or center section l4 and upper and lower flanges or intermediate sections 15 and I6, each perpendicular to the main body M. The flanges l5 and I6 are bent to form mounting feet or end sections I! which lie in a plane parallel to the main body l4. To mount the ballast 4 on the bracket 5, mounting screws l8 are passed through drilled holes I!) in the feet I! of the bracket 5 and through corresponding mounting holes IS on the ballast 4 and are locked in place by the use of nuts 20. The bracket 5 is so constructed that tightening down on the nuts 20 will force the ballast 4 against two dimples 2| which are pressed into the main body l4 of the bracket 5, thus reducing vibration and the concomitant noise of the ballast 4 against the bracket 5.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is aimed in the appended claim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A mounting bracket, for fluorescent ballasts of the elongated rectangular cross-section type hav ing perforated mounting feet at the same side of opposite ends, comprising a one piece sheet metal stamping having an elongated center section substantially equalling in length the length of said ballast, intermediate sections bent in the same direction at right angles to said center section. and end sections bent inwardly toward each other at right angles to said intermediate sections, the length of said intermediate sections being substantially equal to the thickness of said ballast, said end sections having mounting perforations which register with the perforations in the mounting feet of said ballast, mounting openings in said intermediate sections which are so located that a line through their center passes through the center of gravity of said ballast and bracket when their mounting perforations are in registration, and a pair of spaced indentations on said center section for providing two points of contact between said center section and the surface of said, ballast.

ROBERT F. ROWE. 

